Akai MPC5000 - Massive Aggressive Distortion

Here's an effects chain that’s designed for absolute distortion craziness. We recommend trying it on drums, hits, and 16th note arpeggiated synths.

What is it?

This chain sounds especially good on drums when there is “air” between the drums, say if, when sampling a kick or snare from a record, you would want to capture some of the vinyl noise after the drum hit. This “air” or “breath” sounds especially good for sustaining the drum but manages to cut off the actual tone of the drum, providing a nice hydraulic-like blast between each note. This can give you a sound similar to the drums on Nine Inch Nails’ first Year Zero record, some of Mr. Oizo’s overdriven vocal samples and drums, or even some of Aphex Twin’s earlier work especially when using note repeat or an arpeggiation on hi-hats and percussion.

How To Do It:

Buss 1, Block 1: PEQ 4

This parametric EQ will assist you in placing your samples into the mix. It will help you manage the distortion effect in the next block. (See figure 1)

Buss 1, Block 2: Distortion Grimey

Wet/Dry = 100

Drive = 90+

Grime = 80+

Centre = Start with 50, but variable. Higher values result in reduced low end. Sweeping this parameter sounds great if you are using this chain on a drum sequence or synth arpeggiation. We suggest starting with 50%.

Width = Start with 80, but variable. Experiment with sweeping throughout the entire range.